Post offices launch sale of gold coins with India Post logo
03 May 2010
India Post, the country's postal department launched Friday the sale of 24-carat gold coins with its own logo, as seasonal festivities and stronger Indian rupee are expected to keep a strong demand for the yellow metal during the current year.
The gold coins with the new India Post logo will be manufactured by Valcambi, Switzerland with internationally recognised certification, and will be sold initially through 466 post offices across India including 26 post offices in Delhi.
The coins will be available in quality packaging in denominations 0.5g, 1g, 5g and 8g with 99.99 per cent purity and will carry product standardization numbering and assayer certificate.
The postal department first introduced the sale of Valcambi-made gold coins trough post offices in October 2008, in partnership with World Gold Council (WGC) and Reliance Money Infrastructure. (See: Post offices to sell gold coins)
The earlier coins have been made available at 102 post offices in Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. India Post intends to spread the gold coin sales network to 700 post offices across the country in near future.
On the occasion of the launch, the postal department is offering a special one month discount of 6 per cent, up to the end of May coinciding with the ''Akshaya Tritiya'' festival, one of the most auspicious days to buy gold as per Hindu mythology, which falls on 16 May.